A Christmas Excerpt from Sage and Sweetgrass
Friday, 09 December 2011 13:39
Last Updated on Friday, 09 December 2011 14:17
Written by Administrator
“Wow, guys. It’s crazy out there! There’s a glaze on top of the snow so every step I took crunched and broke like I was on ice breaking on the water. Way cool. Check this out.” Jaxson turned his back, and dragged a huge pine bough, dripping snow, through the front door.
Sage hurried to slam out the blast of icy air.
Jaxson kept right on talking. “The ice broke this off and when I saw it, I grabbed it. Grandpa, I’ve never seen a Christmas tree in your place. We’ve got one now.”
Sage ignored the commotion and trounced down the hall, mumbling what sounded like, “sewing supplies.”
“I’ll find something to stand this branch in,” Jax said, on his way to the garage. “I’ve got this tree business under control.”
Lezlie shrugged and set aside the letters. “Guess we’ll finish these later. I’ll pop some corn for stringing.”
Lanae turned on the radio and a Christmas-carol medley filled the air. An hour later, the adults were scrunched tight on the couch, and Jaxson sat in the recliner. They remained in silence with the lights off, hot chocolate in hand.
The “tree” looked all right, where it listed some from its foundation of sand in a gallon can covered with foil. Sage had surprised them all when he brought out a jar of colored buttons, reminding Lanae of Geneva’s vast collection. Using needles and thread, they had strung strands of buttons as well as popcorn, and Lezlie created a garland of colored paper clips. Jaxson covered star-shaped cardboard in foil to top it all off. The tree looked colorful with their efforts.
Lanae wondered. This family owned no ornaments, perhaps they made them each year? Or maybe, with the death of Becca, they simply celebrated at Lezlie’s home…and Sage didn’t bother with a tree at his own home. Somehow, that seemed so sad to Lanae.